Bottle conveying mechanism



June 18, 1935. c. HOLM BOTTLE CONVEYING MECHANISM Filed June 15, 1951 e Sheets-Sheet 1 June 18, 1935. c. HOLM 2,005,522

BOTTLE CONVEYING MECHANISM Filed June 15, 1931 e Sheets-Sheet 2 June 18, 1935. c. HOLM 2,005,522

BOTTLE CONVEYING MECHANISM Filed June 15, 1931- 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 gwwmtw Karl H0217 June 18, 1935. c. HOLM BOTTLE CONVEYING MECHANISM Filed June 15, 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 3144x114 6227i HOZITZ/ 0/7474 fir GR dbliouwqd June 18, 1935. c. HOLM 2,005,522

BOTTLE CONVEYING MECHANISM Filed Jun 15, 1951 6 SheetsSheet 5 June 18, 1935. c. HOLM BOTTLE CONVEYING MECHANISM Filed June 15, 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 I gwvenio'o c arz flolm Patented June 18, 1935 htttzz Ultilffifi STATES PATENT @FFFEQE Carl Helm,

Worcester, Mass., Economic Machinery Company,

assignor to Worcester,

Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application June 15, 1931, Serial No. 544,601

23 Claims.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in bottle conveying mechanism which is used in connection with a bottle The type of machine dislabeling machine. closed and described the preferr ment of the invention is known in the art as a wherein the successive .straightaway labeler operations on the bottle, incident to of a label thereon, occur in a straight line path Serious difficulty passing through the machine.

ed embodithe placing has been encountered in machines of this type because of the fact that it has been possible to place the bottles in their tions which they must occupy at the tions during their travel from one machine to the other.

almost imeXact posiseveral staend of the The main object of the present invention is to provide a conveying mechanism for the bottle which will prevent t--e twisting or the bottle during its periods of through the machine.

turning of movement Another object of the invention is to provide a sliding jaw construction which ini tially grips,

then conveys, and subsequently releases the bottle in its advanced position.

A further object of the present invention resides in the novel manner of adjusting the gripping members so that the machine of a large range of operations.

is capable A still further object of the invention is the provision of a yieldable or cushioned face on the gripping claws or members which'enables the handling of bottles of varying shapes or configurations.

While in the foregoing, the term been used, it is to be understood that bottle has any article,

package or receptacle may be handled in this conveying mechanism, and further that the said mechanism is susceptible of variations and out the several views wherein- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the conveying mechanism showing only one of an intended plurality of pairs of gripping claws by which the bottle is transported in a step by step manner through the machine.

The respective labeling stations in the machine have been omitted for the purpose of clarity;

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of th shown in Fig. 1;

e structure Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the machine as shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. e is a diagrammatic view of the actions of the cam that controls the raising and lowering of the finger bars upon which the bottle gripping fingers are mounted or secured;

Fig. 5 is a similar View of the actions of the cams that control the forward. and rearward movements of the finger bars;

Figs. 6 and 7 represent, respectively, a side view and an end View of the gripping fingers; and

Figs. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 illustrate modified forms of the yieldable face which may be applied to the gripping fingers.

Referring more in detail to the disclosures that are made in the attached drawings, 20 indicates a table or base supported on legs 2!, and arranged beneath the table and between the legs is a power shaft 22 which furnishes the power for the operation of the conveying mechanism. A bevelled gear 23 is arranged on the end of the power shaft, which gear meshes with bevelled gear 24, the latter being keyed to the transversely extending shaft 25. The shaft 25 is suitably supported in bearing brackets 26-46 aifixed to the end legs 2!.

Suitably secured to the transverse shaft 25 are three earns 21, 28, and 29, each being provided with an internal camway as is shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described.

Extending upwardly from the upper face of the table or base 25! are two castings til-30, and suitably secured to the inner walls of these castings are the spaced tracks or supports 3l--3I for the articles to be handled. Within eachcasting there is also pivotally mounted a bell crank membertt. One .legof each of the bell crank members pivotally supports a bearing box 33 through which the finger bars 34-34 are adapted to slide. Secured to the finger bars 343t are a plurality of sets of opposing gripping fingers or jaws :3535, only one pair having been shown in the present case for 45 the purpose of clarity. These fingers are so disposed as to work within the space between thetracks or supports 3 i-3 i. As is clearly shown in Fig. 1, one of the grip fingers is affixed to one finger bar while the opposing grip finger is carried by the other finger bar. These finger bars may, therefore, be relatively adjusted to vary the distance between the respective sets of fingers. This adjustment is made possible through the employment of plate members 36-36 each being pivoted arm 49.

provided with elongated slots 313'| through which threaded studs 3838 carried by the respective finger bars are adapted to extend and be fastened by nuts 39-39.

Extending outwardly from each of the plate members 36-36 is a stud or trunnion ill40 which pivotally supports one end of the connecting link il ii, the opposite ends of said links being connected to the upper ends of the levers t2- i2. The lower ends of the levers are pivotally supported on a cross shaft 43 extending between the brackets 2626. Secured to each of the levers ib-t2 intermediate the. ends thereof is a roller 44. One of said rollers is positioned .to ride in the internal camway of the cam 21 while the other is adapted to ride in the camway of the cam 28.

The mechanism so far described only permits the claw bars to a horizontal sliding movement and in addition to such an action, it is also intended that the bars have a vertical movement at the end of each horizontal stroke.

The arms la-i of the bell cranks 32-42 are connected to move in unison by a rod 45. There is also another depending arm l'i connected to the bell crank structure 32 shown to the right of Fig. 2. Pivotally connected to the end of this arm i": is a link 48, the opposite end of the latter being pivotally attached to and actuated by the The arm 49 is suitablysupported in a bracket 50 extending from the end of the table 2! On the end of the arm 48 is a roller 5| which is adapted to ride within the camway of the cam 29.

The above described structure provides a mechanical movement wherein the finger bars are moved in a rectilinear path or cycle. They are actuated in the forward and rearward horizontal strokes through the movements of the cams 21 and 28 and the connected linkage while the raising and lowering actions are attended to by the cam 29 and the associated links and levers. will, of course, be understood that the various cams are arranged to accomplish such actions in their proper sequence.

The cams 21 and 28 which are adapted to control the horizontal movements of the claw bars 34 are so formed as to allow a slight, opening movement or separation of the fingers 35--35 at the termination of the forward stroke, just prior to the lowering action of the bars and fingers. Also, the cams 27 and 28 are so correlated as to cause the separated fingers 35-35 to clamp or grip the bottle just after the fingers are in their fully raised position. The diagrammatic showings made in Figs. i and 5 clearly illustrate such actions.

In the modified forms of the gripping fingers 35-35 as are shown in Figs. 8 to 15, inclusive, the inner face of each finger is provided with a yieldable gripping surface. In Figs. 8, 9, and 10, this is accomplished through the employment of a spring blade 52 being attached at its lower end to the base of the finger by screws or other suitable means as shown at 53. The blade is so tensioned as to be slightly spaced from the upper inner face of the finger and is continued over the top as at 54,. terminating in a slight rebend as suggested at 55. The upper rear wall of each finger 35 is notched as designated by the character 55 to receive the rebent portion 55 of the spring facing, thus limiting the outward spring of the finger. In some cases, principally when bottles of an irregular or peculiar shape are being; handled, it is necessary to use a slightly modified form of finger. This is suggested in Figs. 9 and 10, and embodies the use of a blade member 57 which is pivotally supported at 58 within a slot 59 formed in the upper end of each finger 35. In case the finger is provided with a spring blade 52, this blade is slotted or cut away as at 56 to permit the nose of the blade to contact with the surface of the bottle. In order to hold the pivoted blade member 51 in its desired adjusted position, it is provided with a stud or pin 6i which extends through the arouated slots 62 in the side faces of the grip finers 35. This stud or pin may be fastened in any appropriate manner to effectively hold the blade 57 in its adjusted position.

The modified form disclosed in Figs. 11 to 15, inclusive, provides a structure wherein the yieldable face of the fingers 35 is constructed of a block or strip of rubber or similar resilient material. Here the upper portion of the finger 35 is of channelled formation, as at 63, being preferably constructed of a piece of sheet material and secured in any appropriate manner to the base of the finger block. Within the channel is arranged a block or strip of resilient material 64 which may have its exposed surface cut away or shaped as suggested at $5, or as may be required to suit any particular case. In Fig. 15, the exposed face 65 of the block 64 is of tapering formation which would naturally fit against the tapering sides of the bottle to be handled.

The body of the grip fingers may be provided with elongated slots 61 so that a fuller range of adjustments between the fingers may be had.

The complete operation of the machine is as follows: The bottles being fed to this machine are deposited or placed on the tracks or supports 3l-3| at the right hand side of the machine. The fingers bars 3 334 and the associated grip fingers 35 are at this instant in their rearward and lowered position. The action of the cam 29 then causes the finger bars and the grip fingers to ascend or raise in a vertical direction and when this movement has been completed the grip fingers are disposed along the opposite sides of the bottle. The fingers are then caused to grip the bottle after which a joint forward sliding motion is transmitted to the finger bars and the gripped bottle. This motion corresponds to the range of movement between the several stations in the machine. When the bottle has been advanced to its appropriate station the grip fingers are caused to separate a suificient distance to clear the sides of the bottle. At this instant the cam 29 again causes the finger bars and the connected fingers.

to descend or lower away from the bottle. The bars and the fingers are then moved rearwardly through the operations of the cams 27 and 28 so that the action may be repeated on the next succeeding bottle.

What I desire to claim by U. S. Letters Patent 1. An article transferring mechanism comprising an article support, a pair of reciprocably mounted bars arranged side by side and each provided with a series of rigidly attached fingers, the fingers of one bar being oppositely disposed with respect to the fingers of the other bar to constitute gripping members to advance the article along the support and means for lowering the bars when in advanced position and raising the bars when in retracted position.

2. An article transferring mechanism compris-- ing an article support, a pair of reciprocably mounted bars positioned beneath the support and provided with a series of longitudinally aligned gripping members projecting above the support to advance thearticle along the support and means for lowering-the bars when in advanced position and raising the bars when in retracted position and means for relatively moving said bars when in the advanced or retracted position to respectively release or grip the article on the support.

3. An article transferring mechanism comprising an article support, a pair of reciprocatory bars having oppositely disposed and longitudinally aligned grip fingers thereon for progressively advancing the articles along said support, means for relatively sliding said. reciprocatory bars longitudinally to separate said fingers when in the advanced position to release the articles and to advance said fingers when in the retracted position to grip the succeeding article on the support.

4:. An article transferring mechanism comprising an article support, a pair of bars arranged beneath the support and each provide with a series of upright rigid fingers projecting above the support, the fingers of one bar being oppositely disposed with respect to the fingers of the other bar to constitute gripping members to! move the articles along said support, and means for moving said bars to progressively grip, advance, and release the articles in succession on said support.

5. An article transferring mechanism compris- 7 ing relatively spaced tracks constituting an article support, a pair of bars arranged beneath the support and each provided with a series of grip fingers projecting upwardly between said tracks, and means for moving said bars to progressively grip, advance, and release the articles in succession on support.

6. An article transferring mechanism comprising an article support, a pair of bars arranged beneath. the support and provided with a series of oppositely disposed upright fingers projecting above the support to move the article along said support, m ans for simultaneously moving said bars in a longitudinal direction to advance or retract said bars, and means for relatively mov-- ing said bars to accomplish the gripping or release action oi said fingers.

*7. An article transic-ri mechanism comprising an article support, a pair of bars arranged beneath the support and ovided with a series of oppositely disposed up ht fingers projecting above the support to move the articles along said support, means for simultaneously moving said bars in a rectilinear path. to accomplish the advancement of the article on the support and the subsequent return of the bars to their initial position, and means for relatively moving said bars to accomplish the gripping or releasing action of said fingers.

8. An article transferring mechanism comprising an article support, a pair of bars arranged beneath the support and provided with a series of oppositely disposed upright fingers projecting above the support to move the articles along said support, and means for relatively moving said bars just prior to their advancement to grip the article on the support and at the terminus of their advancement to release the article on the support.

9. An article transferring mechanism comprising an article support, a pair of bars arranged beneath the support and provided with a series of oppositely'disposed upright fingers projecting above the support to move the articles along said support, means for simultaneously lowering said bars when in the advanced position and simultaneously raising the bars when in the retracted position, and for relatively moving said bars in a longitudinal direction when in the vanced or retracted position to effect a release or grip of the article on the suppor'.

10. An article conveyor having a series of oppositely disposed gripping members, the inn 1' face of each member having a spring blade attached at one end to the inner surface and slightly spaced and free from the inner surface at the opposite end, the upper portion of the spring blade being rebent with the terminal end thereof positioned along the outer face of the gripping member to limit the inward movement of said spring blade.

11. An article ooiveyor ha ing a series of oppositely disposed gripping members, each ppi g member bein provided with a pivoted blade and means for adjusting the pivotal position of said blade to accommodate articles of varying diameters or contours between the oppositely disposed gripping members.

12. An article transferring mechanism, comprising an article support, a pair of movable bars positioned beneath the support and each bar being provided with a series of fixedly attached fingers, the fingers on one bar being interspaced with relation to the fingers on the other bar to constitute oppositely disposed gripping members, and means for moving said bars in a plurality of directions, all being in a plane longitudinally of the machine, to initially effect a grip of the article, a subsequent transfer and release of the same and a final return of the parts to their startin position.

13. An article transferring mechanism, comprising an article support, a pair of movable bars positioned beneath the support and each bar being provided with a series of fixedly attached fingers, the fingers on one bar being interspaced with relation to the fingers on the other bar to constitute oppositely disposed gripping members, and means for moving said bars in a plurality of directions, all being in a plane longitudinally of the machine, for progressively gripping, moving and releasing the article while on the support.

14. An article transferring mechanism, comprising an article support, a pair of movable bars positioned beneath the support and each 'bar being provided with a series of fixedly attached fingers, the fingers on one bar being inter-spaced with relation to the fingers on the other bar to constitute oppositely disposed gripping members, the fingers on b th bars being inwardly offset so as to align them longitudinally of the machine, and means for moving said bars in a plurality of directions longitudinally of the machine, for progressively gripping,- moving and releasing the article while on the support.

15. In an article transferring mechanism, comprising an article support, a pair of bars arranged side by side beneath said support and adapted for movements in a rectilinear path, each 'bar being provided with a series of upstanding fingers, the fingers on one bar being interspaced between the fingers on the other bar to constitute oppositely disposed gripping members, and means for relatively moving the bars for effecting a grip, and. a subsequent release of the article while on the support during the rectilinear movements of said bars.

16. In a machine of the character described,-

carrier members, grippers fixedly secured to the carrier members, means for relatively moving the carrier members longitudinally to grip an article and to move them in unison to transfer the article, and actuating means whereby the movements of the carrier members and grippers in gripping and transferring the article are all in the same longitudinal direction relative to the machine.

17. In a conveying mechanism comprising a pair of bars arranged side by side and each bar being provided with a series or" fingers, the fingers of one bar being interspaced between the fingers of the other bar to constitute oppositely disposed gripping members, and means for moving said bars in unison to advance an article and means for relatively and longitudinally sliding said bars to effect a release of the article in the advanced position.-

18. In a conveying mechanism comprising a pair of bars arranged side by side and each bar being provided with a series of rigidly attached fingers, the fingers of one bar being interspaced between the fingers of the other bar to constitute oppositely disposed gripping members, and means for moving said bars in unison to advance an article and means for relatively shifting said bars in a longitudinal direction to effect a release of the article in the advanced position.

19. In a conveying mechanism comprising a pair of bars arranged side by side and each bar being provided with a series of fingers, the fingers of one bar being interspaced between the fingers of the other bar to constitute oppositely disposed gripping members, and means for moving said bars in unison to advance an article and means for moving one of said bars in a longitudinal direction relative to the other bar to effect a release of the article in the advanced position.

20. In an article'transferring mechanism comprising an'article support, a pair of bars arranged beneath said support, each bar being provided with a series of fixedly attached fingers, the fingers of onebar being interspaced between the fingers of the other bar to constitute oppositely disposed gripping members, and means for moving said bars in unison to advance an article along the support and means for relatively and longitudinally shifting said bars to effect a release of the article in, the advanced; position on the support.

21. In an article transferring mechanism comprising an article support, a pair of bars arranged side by side and positioned beneath said support, each bar being provided with a series of fingers, the fingers of one bar being interspaced between the fingers of the other bar, means for moving said bars in unison to advance an article along the support, and means for relatively shifting said bars in a longitudinal direction to effect a release of the article in the advanced position on the support.

22. In a machine of the character described, an article support, carrier members movably mounted beneath said support, grippers fixedly secured to each of the carrier members and normally extending above said support, and means for actuating the carrier members in a direction longitudinal of the machine to initially effect a gripping of the article on the support and a subsequent transfer thereof and means for lowering the carrier members to withdraw the grippers below said article support.

23. In a machine of the character described, carrier members, grippers associated with each of the carrier members, and operating means to initially effect a grip of the article and then a transfer of the same, said operating means being adapted to move the carrier members and their associated grippers in a rectilinear path from receiving position to discharging position thence to a withdrawn position and finally back to the receiving postion.

CARL HOLM. 

